Millions of years ago, the world was much different. The long-necked Diplacusis wandered this volcano-laden landscape. Thanks to its really long neck and tail, Diplacusis was so big that it was afraid of no predator.
Actually, Diplodocus is the long-necked dinosaur from the Jurassic Period. When you’re hearing two sounds at the same time, that’s a hearing condition called diplacusis.
Diplacusis is an affliction which can be frustrating and confusing leading to difficulty communicating.
Perhaps your hearing has been a bit weird lately
We’re accustomed to regarding hearing loss as a kind of gradual decreasing of the volume knob. Over time, the story goes, we simply hear less and less. But there are some other, not so well recognized, types of hearing loss. One of the most interesting (or, perhaps, frustrating) such manifestations is a condition called diplacusis.
What is diplacusis?
So, what is diplacusis? The meaning of the medical term diplacusis is simply “double hearing”. Typically, your brain takes signals from your right ear and signals from the left ear and marries them harmoniously into one sound. This combined sound is what you hear. Your eyes are doing the same thing. If you place a hand on your right eye and then a hand on your left eye, you see slightly different images, right? Usually, with your ears, you don’t even notice it.
Diplacusis occurs when the hearing abilities of your ears vary so wildly that your brain can no longer combine them, at least not very well. You can develop diplacusis because of the hearing loss in one ear (called monaural diplacusis) or both ears (binaural diplacusis).
Diplacusis comes in two types
Diplacusis does not impact everyone in the same way. Normally, though, individuals will experience one of the following two types of diplacusis:
- Diplacusis dysharmonica: When the pitch of the right and left ear don’t match it’s an indication of this form of diplacusis. So the sound will be distorted when someone talks to you. Maybe your right ear thinks the sound is low-pitched and your left ear thinks the sound is high-pitched. Those sounds can be hard to understand as a result.
- Diplacusis echoica: With this, what you hear will sound off because your brain gets the sound from each ear out of sync with the other rather than hearing two separate pitches. Artifacts like echoes can be the outcome. And understanding speech can become complicated because of this.
Diplacusis symptoms
Here are some symptoms of diplacusis:
- Hearing that sounds off (in timing).
- Phantom echoes
- Hearing that seems off (in pitch).
The condition of double vision may be a helpful comparison: Yes, it can develop some symptoms on its own, but it’s normally itself a symptom of something else. (It’s the effect, essentially, not the cause.) In these cases, diplacusis is nearly always a symptom of hearing loss (either in one ear or in both ears). So your best strategy would be to Schedule an appointment with us for a hearing test.
What causes diplacusis?
The causes of diplacusis line up very well, in a general sense, with the causes of hearing loss. But you may experience diplacusis for a number of specific reasons:
- Noise-related damage to your ears: If you’ve experienced enough loud sounds to damage your hearing, it’s feasible that the same damage has brought about hearing loss, and consequently, diplacusis.
- Earwax: Your hearing can be impacted by an earwax blockage. Whether that earwax forms a partial or complete obstruction, it can lead to diplacusis.
- An infection: Ear infections, sinus infections, or even normal allergies can cause your ear canal to become inflamed. This swelling is a typical immune response, but it can impact the way sound waves travel into your inner ear (and therefore your brain).
- A tumor: Diplacusis can, in rare instances, be the result of a tumor in your ear canal. Don’t panic! They’re usually benign. Nevertheless, it’s something you should talk to your hearing specialist about!
Obviously, diplacusis and hearing loss have many of the same common causes. This means that if you have diplacusis, it’s likely that something is impeding your ability to hear. So you should absolutely come in and talk to us.
Treatments for diplacusis
Depending on the main cause, there are several possible treatments. If you have a blockage, treating your diplacusis will focus on clearing it out. However, diplacusis is frequently caused by irreversible sensorineural hearing loss. In these situations, the best treatment options include:
- Hearing aids: Your hearing can be equalized with the right set of hearing aids. Your diplacusis symptoms will slowly fade when you benefit from hearing aids. It’s essential to get the proper settings on your hearing aids and you’ll need to have us assist you with that.
- Cochlear implant: In circumstances where the hearing loss at the root of diplacusis is profound, a cochlear implant may be the only way to get relief from the symptoms.
All of this starts with a hearing exam. Here’s how you can think about it: a hearing assessment will be able to determine what kind of hearing loss is at the source of your diplacusis (perhaps you simply think things sound strange at this point and you don’t even identify it as diplacusis). Modern hearing assessments are very sensitive, and good at finding discrepancies between how your ears hear the world.
Life is more fun when you can hear clearly
Getting the appropriate treatment for your diplacusis, whether that’s a hearing aid or some other treatment option, means you’ll be more capable of participating in your daily life. Talking with others will be easier. Keeping up with your family will be easier.
So there will be no diplacusis symptoms getting in the way of your ability to hear your grandchildren telling you all about the Diplodocus.
If you believe you have diplacusis and want to have it checked, give us a call for an appointment.